Lifetime Update: 6 Months!!

At the end of the day yesterday it occurred to me what yesterday was! My six month anniversary as a Weight Watchers Lifetime member! Which means, that I have maintained my weighloss successfully for the last 6 months. (Well, technically more than that since I reached my goal in June, then got Lifetime status 6 weeks later.)

I must confess that maintaining the loss is a hell of a lot harder than the actual losing part! They don't tell you that in meeting or in any of the plan materials. There is no magic attached to the Lifetime keyring they give you that makes all the weight stay off. Really, it doesn't happen, I swear.

I mentioned in my last post that I was having dinner with an old co-worker who is also on Weight Watchers and when the bread was passed around and I passed on it, her daughter said something to me and my response really stuck with me because it was not only profound, but completely true. What she said to me was, "Can't you have bread now that you are on Lifetime? I mean, you aren't fat anymore so why not, right? And honestly, I don't remember you ever being that fat." I smiled at her and gave her my usual speech I give anyone when they tell me to vary from my eating plan, "I compare my weightloss struggle to that of an alcoholic. I am addicted to food, just as an alcoholic is addicted to booze. Just like an alcoholic I went to rehab and beat my dependence. But I am still an addict and will always be one. Sure, one slice of bread won't kill me or cause me to gain all my weight back, but from experience, one slice leads to 3 slices, which leads to a 2 week binge and 10 lbs. Plus, I was told there is ice cream cake for dessert, and I would rather indulge on that!" Sure, I could have said, "You are right, I am not fat anymore, I can eat what I want! Pass the bread, and I am gonna need more butter than what is on the table", but that is the exact thinking that would get me right back to where I started! And she was wrong, I WAS that fat, but most importantly, I was unhealthy and sad.

That whole conversation basically summed up my biggest lesson I learned these last 6 months. I will always, everyday, for the rest of my life have to pay attention to my eating and my weight. Yea, that thought kindof sucks, but which is worse, paying attention and staying thin, or not paying attention and getting fat again? Sure, I can have days where I don't care, and I indulge and let myself loose. However, those occasions have to be rare and controlled!

For example: I spent 10 days with my husband, mother, and step-dad in Disney World in December (I know, I know, I promised to blog about it, and I haven't yet...I will...as soon as I get the pics loaded onto my new computer. And about the countless other blogs I have promised to write...Yea, I will get to them too...eventually...) and I told myself I would enjoy my trip, not over indulge, but not pass up things I wanted, but still make healthy decisions. We stocked up the fridge in the hotel with healthy breakfast items so we started our day out right with yogurt, fruit, bagel thins and coffee. We planned to eat late lunches/early dinners in the parks and then have dessert/cocktails later in the evening. I ate what I felt like I wanted at restaurants. One day I had steak and potatoes, another was pan seared fish over mushroom risotto. I had a glass of wine just about every night with dinner, or in the room before bed while we planned out our next day. I had a huge cone of orange/pineapple swirl soft serve one day, and a warm chocolate filled beignet another. We went to the beach, I had cheese grits with bacon and shrimp, and on the same day I ate exactly 6 Dunkin Donut munckins with my coffee for breakfast. On our last day, I split a deep fried, fat filled funnel cake covered with powdered sugar and chocolate syrup with my husband. After 10 days of eating my little heart out on all the yummy amazingness that Disney has to offer, you know what happened? Yea, I lost 4 lbs!! Shocker, I know. You know how I managed to do that without depriving myself? Planning, walking around Epcot all day, making good choices, planning, walking around Magic Kingdom all day, planning, splitting desserts with my mom or husband, and walking up the stairs to my hotel room.

So, does that mean I can start eating all that on a regular basis and stay at the weight I am now? Uh, HELL NO! Unless I want to spend 16 hours a day walking around at the same pace as my crazy speed demon mother every-damn-day! Was it okay to do for 10 days while on vacation? Sure! Did I go to the store and stock up on my usual yogurt, bananas, and baby carrots the day we got back? You bet your ass I did! Am I still shocked as shit that I lost 4 lbs in freaking Disney World? YES!

So, in conclusion, here are my key lessons for maintaining weight loss:

Don't go back to old eating habits.
Don't forget about the fat chick hiding deep down who is just dying to come out and play.

Make healthy choices, while still enjoying small indulgences.

Go to meetings at least once a month.

Get on the scale weekly! And if the number is not pretty, do something about it quickly!

Plan, plan, plan.

Buy clothes that are so nice that you don't want to grow out of them.

Grocery shop weekly for fresh fruits and veggies.

Pack breakfast, lunch, and an emergency snack everyday to bring to work.

Keep an emergency snack within reach at all times (for example, I keep a snack bar, or some Popchips in my glove box)

Pay attention to hunger signals. Stop at satisfied, NOT at stuffed.

Eat breakfast. Every day. No matter what.

Know your emotional eating triggers and DON"T FEED THEM!

Get off your ass and DO something.  Take a walk, ride a bike, vacuum the hallway, just something other than nothing.